Tag: love

Blogs I Like (and You Might, Too)–5/1/2024

On By Mike U.In Featured Blogs24 Comments
Image (c) Mike Utley

This ongoing initiative showcases blogs with fewer than 500 subscribers which I think are deserving of more attention. Hopefully these blogs will spark your interest and you’ll check them out. It’s my way of spreading awareness of talented writers whose work I admire.

This week’s featured blog is Fata Cu Suflet De Cerneală (The Girl with the Ink Soul) by Romanian poet Bianca Alina. My first experience with Bianca’s poetry occurred last year when I saw some of her work published at the various Masticadores literary sites. I was immediately entranced by the passion and intensity of her romantic poetry, her deft skill with words and her deep understanding of the human heart and all it desires. Bianca’s poems speak to the secret yearnings of the heart, the longing for closeness, the sorrow of heartbreak and the singular joy of intimate love. Her words paint beautiful, poignant panoramas of human relationships and emotions and have a unique way of touching the hearts and souls of readers. What’s more, Bianca’s blog also features her original nature photography, and gorgeous images abound. Bianca’s talent is boundless and rejuvenating, and her universal themes of love resonate with all of us.

I asked if Bianca could share a bit about herself:

“I live in Romania. I am very passionate about poetry, learning new languages, and nature photography.

My mother is the one who taught me that language has power. I inherited from her the passion for writing.

I wrote my first poem when I was 11 years old. At 16 years old, I had a few poems published in the high school magazine. I continued writing poetry throughout my university years, but I didn’t publish any poems online. Then, I got my first job and I stopped writing for a long time.

I returned to poetry in 2022, when I started writing on my blog:

Fata Cu Suflet De Cerneală

I think poetry is the language of the soul and I try to convey pure emotion through every poem I write.

My writing has been published on MasticadoresRumanía, Gobblers & Masticadores, Hotel Masticadores and Masticadores Philippines.”

For some examples of Bianca’s sublime poetry, here are a couple of magnificent pieces:

“Love Spells”

“The Sunrise in Us”

Bianca’s poetry reminds us of the love and passion we all carry in our hearts, that desire and intimacy are powerful emotions that both hurt and heal, and that the magic of romance enhances our lives. Take some time and indulge yourselves in Fata Cu Suflet De Cerneală (The Girl with the Ink Soul), where the finest poetry of the heart awaits.

Let’s spread the love and support our fellow bloggers.

Blogs I Like (and You Might, Too)–4/2/2024

On By Mike U.In Featured Blogs16 Comments
Image (c) Mike Utley

This ongoing initiative showcases blogs with fewer than 500 subscribers which I think are deserving of more attention. Hopefully these blogs will spark your interest and you’ll check them out. It’s my way of spreading awareness of talented writers whose work I admire.

This week’s featured blog is Peggy Writes, a truly wonderful inspirational blog by Peggy Stroud. I first became aware of Peggy’s blog a couple of years ago when she left a nice comment on one of my posts. While checking out her blog, I immediately noticed a couple of things: Peggy is an excellent writer, and her sincerity, honesty and enthusiasm really shine.

I was struck by the easy flow of her words and how she conveys important messages in a seemingly effortless manner. Anyone who writes well knows that effective writing is difficult to achieve and requires not only talent but years of practice. Peggy’s writing shows a dedication to her craft that produces results that are both educational and enjoyable to behold.

Peggy’s natural inclination to support and encourage others is boundless, her kindness refreshing. I often refer to her as a “light-bringer” due to the hope offered by her messages. She is someone I consider a dear friend, as well.

I asked Peggy if she could provide a few words about her blog and herself:

“I have always loved working with children, reading and writing. After a much-loved career in teaching, a blessed time as a stay-at-home mom, and a stint as bookkeeper for my husband’s business, I and my husband retired to the foothills of Virginia. I began my new calling as a Christian blogger and hopeful children’s book writer. I publish two blogs each week, one for adults and one for children so that families can be in God’s word together.”

Here are some examples of Peggy’s writing:

For adults: “Shine Like the Light of Dawn!”

For children: “Brighten Someone’s Day!”

I’m well aware of Peggy’s aspirations of publishing children’s books. It’s my great hope that she succeeds in this quest. Her talent and dedication are obviously apparent, and her background as a teacher and mother offers her a uniquely qualified perspective. So, never give up on your dreams, Peggy!

I hope you’ll take some time and explore Peggy Writes. It’s a place of light and hope.

Let’s spread the love and support our fellow bloggers.

“When Ivory Kiku Bloom”

On By Mike U.In Poetry39 Comments

“When Ivory Kiku Bloom”
(c) 2024 by Michael L. Utley

it’s my hope in time to come
when ivory kiku bloom
you’ll remember me
as I remember you

those days so long ago
in absence of joy
fraught with fear and agony
you gazed into the abyss

what did you see in the din
and darkness of depression
what peered back at you
shattered your very soul

in this winter tempest
golden suisen
hides its glowing countenance
waiting for the storm to pass

yet its radiance lives on
deep beneath the blowing snow
its beauty obscured
dimmed for but a moment

I saw your light shining
through your blackest night
with the brilliance of the sun
rising moon’s intensity

in your sorrow you were blind
you saw neither light nor love
nor could you believe
your heart was still alive

thus you mourned a life lost
buried your own soul
oblivion’s rueful loam
brings forth its bitter harvest

in my heart there lies a tomb
wreathed in ivory kiku
every day I pause
to offer my respects

every day I mourn for
what could never be
place my heart upon the shroud
of these fading memories

it’s my hope in time to come
when ivory kiku bloom
you’ll have found your peace
for I’ll remember you

“My Jade Remembrance” (reprise)

On By Mike U.In Poetry48 Comments

(originally posted 10/5/2021)

“My Jade Remembrance”
(c) 2019 by Michael L. Utley

I used to know you
9,000 tears ago
A tear for every mile
That kept me from you
A tear for every moment
Not spent with you
A tear for every hope
Not shared with you
9,000 tears

A jade remembrance
For my brown-eyed love
A dusky green heart
On a silver chain
I keep in my pocket
It was for you
Everything was for you
Everything I had
Everything gone except
My jade remembrance

You were already dead
Before I ever met you
Your path etched in stone
I was just a detour
A distraction on your way
Into darkness
A temporary reprieve
An unplanned respite
For the lost girl
The girl who would learn to fly
Or die trying

And I was the lost boy
The boy who had
Never seen the sun
Until I saw you
The boy whose shattered heart
Had one last beat for you
A final crescendo for my
Brown-eyed love

I couldn’t fix you
You weren’t broken
You were destroyed
Crushed by the weight of
Damnation
Hounded by demons
Unknown to me
Yet you smiled at me
And pulled me from
My own abyss
And I loved you

My jade remembrance
Are you still there
Did you close your eyes
And take that leap of faith
Did you learn to fly
Or did you die trying
You didn’t just take your life
You took mine too

I keep your heart in my pocket
On a silver chain

“Ripples” (reprise)

On By Mike U.In Poetry50 Comments

(originally posted 10/5/2021)

“Ripples”
(c) 2017 by Michael L. Utley

There are no ripples
On this frozen pond
The puk-puk-puk of
The pebble
Skittering on iced skin
Dampened by
Frost-thick air
Breath caught short
In lung-numbed gasps
Silent words
Suspended
In wintry sighs
Eyes pools of
Frigid tear-prisms
Bitter empty gelid rainbows
Where are you

You missed our flight to Tokyo
The cherry blossoms whispered your name
As Fuji, incurious and remote
Gazed white-helmed
At my solitary shadow
My empty hand
Holding more of you
Than my heart could bear
We did not walk
Beneath flicker-flamed
Paper lanterns
On blood-red bridges
Spanning koi ponds
Under the spring moon
The rising sun
Sought to kiss your cheek
But was denied
As I was denied

You missed auroras
Over Iceland
The Arctic colder
In your absence
The night sky draped
In shimmering iridescent
Thought
The emerald musings of some distant god
Snagged in dark desolation
My own thoughts of you
Caught in my own
Desolation

You missed the candent sands
Of Morocco
Capricious zephyrs
Erasing my footprints
In a desert bereft of
Your footprints
We did not dance
In the summer swelter
Beneath date palms
And stars that sought
To light your way
But failed
Your body absent
In my arms
The scent of your hair
A distant memory which
Hot breezes scatter
In the night

You missed our train
To the Rockies
Where larkspur and columbine
Awaited you with open arms
And later mourned in silence
My singular form without you
By my side
We did not hold hands in
Flower-burst mountain meadows
Azure lakes reflected only
My lone countenance
As conifers murmured
Demurely in cool breezes
Wondering if you
Would ever arrive

You missed our drive
Through New England hills
Autumn maple and hemlock
A conflagration burning for you
Yearning for you
The birches and beeches smoldering
In my heart
Red-orange-gold leaves
Suiciding in silent sadness
Loneliness wearing my face
Stalks these woods
You are nowhere to be found

You missed my arrival
In Singapore
The airport a swarm
Of faces
A blur of oceanic humanity
As I searched for one safe harbor
One stormless island
In this storm of chaos
Your face
A lighthouse to guide me home
Your beacon never appearing
No fog horn guiding me safely
Through treacherous surf
Your bottomless brown eyes
Nowhere
Your smile cut roughly from this mural
Missing
A ragged hole where you should be
In my life

Perhaps you were a
Phantom
All along

Puk-puk-puk
No ripples on this frozen pond
Not enough pebbles remain
To last until springtime thaw
One ripple is all I ask
One ripple to finally reach you
I’ll save a pebble
Just in case

“In Time to Come” (reprise)

On By Mike U.In Poetry28 Comments

(originally posted on 10/4/2021)

“In Time to Come”
(c) 2017 by Michael L. Utley

She had that look about her again
Eyes like chips of coruscating amber
Caught in the westering sun
Her over-there gaze snagged
On some distant memory
Like thorn-caught thread
Hands prim and pale
In her denim lap
Amid foxtails and dandelions
And oak shadows

Things move too fast
When they move too slowly
The heat that summer was unbearable
A bludgeon wielded by a chrome sky
Its merciless swath pounding
Everyone everything into submission
We were not spared

I could reach toward her forever
And never touch her
I’ll tell you in time to come, she’d say
Her tired smile dying before
It reached her eyes
Time to come never coming
Never time enough
Time running out

Let’s sit and enjoy the shade, she’d say
The sun slipping languidly
Into oblivion
Her face haloed
In a warm orange aura
My ephemeral love
Ensconced in flames
Flickering
Flickering

Broken pieces of her
Litter the oak-shadowed grass
One touch and she’d shatter
One embrace and she’d be
All over the place
Delicate balance was
The ruse of muses who
Knew nothing of reality
Who knew nothing of
Love and sickness
And the terrible nectar
Of the tainted honeysuckle

Even the birds are quiet

There is no darkness
As black as love
No pit as plumbless
As that filled with regret
Her brown eyes
Smiling and weeping at once
Succumbing to demons
Unknown to me
So much of her slate blank
Her portrait only half-finished
Before the paint dried out
And the canvas rent asunder

Broken pieces of her
Litter the oak-shadowed grass
I used to collect them
Their razor edges
Slicing my hands bloody
Only a few remain
Among the foxtails and dandelions
Her voice only an echo now
I’ll tell you in time to come

“A Few Haiku (25)”

On By Mike U.In Poetry28 Comments

(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley

(#145)

whispers of the dead
desiccated teasel stalks
haunt the winter field

…..

(#146)

fuyu no shika
scornful mountains echo
mournful stag’s lament

…..

(#147)

in the end
my heart gropes in darkness
on life’s lonely path

…..

(#148)

jade remembrance
the hitch in my chest
as my heart shatters

…..

(#149)

barren winter field
this heart of mine
bereft of yours

…..

(#150)

in silence in shadows
cold earth trembles beneath
blanket of regrets

“The Snow That Never Falls”

On By Mike U.In Poetry12 Comments

“The Snow That Never Falls”
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley

The snow that never falls cannot assuage
The sorrow of the autumn’s grim defeat
There is no balm
For open wounds
No gilded cup
To slake the dying season’s thirst
No whispered words to quell the fear
Of failing heart
Forsaken soul
Abandoned hope
There is no honor in autumn’s demise
In absence of the snow that never falls

The tears that never fall have silenced me
Left desiccated bitter memories
Of desert sand
And alkali
That sting my eyes
Abrading zephyrs scour my soul
Abrasive hardpan sears my soles
I walk through life
An empty husk
Of what I was
There is no succor for these blinded eyes
In absence of the tears that never fall

The love that never comes has passed me by
And stranded me along the mountain path
The chilly wind
Bereft of warmth
Has sundered life
There is no trace of hart nor hind
Nor shadowed copse in which to rest
Treacherous scree
And empty tarns
And granite bones
Epitomize my solitary life
In absence of the love that never comes

The spring that never comes can never heal
The grievous pain inflicted on the earth
By autumn’s death
And winter’s drought
And dearth of care
For those who walk the silent path
Through torrid flats and frigid slopes
In search of what
They’ll never find
And stumble on
In darkness spurned by sun and moon and stars
In absence of the spring that never comes

“A Tanka Trio (9)

On By Mike U.In Poetry8 Comments

(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley

(#25)

Old stones squander heat
In the fire pit at night
After flames have died
Wrapped in fading embers’ arms
Love succumbs to apathy

…..

(#26)

I pick up the eggs
Fallen from a sparrow’s nest
Observing the cracks
There is silence as the earth
Contemplates what might have been

…..

(#27)

In the summer lea
Fluted vessels spill their mead
Amid buzzing drones
Yellowjackets drink their fill
Humming raucous tavern tunes

“Hana no Niwa (Garden of Flowers)”

On By Mike U.In Poetry10 Comments

“Hana no Niwa (Garden of Flowers)”
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley

In the restless nights
In the small flower garden
Spider lilies weep
Mournful beneath midnight moon
Dreaming higanbana dreams

They cry in silence
Do they know for whom they grieve
Do they remember
It was you who planted them
It was you who gave them life

They are not alone
In the soil of memories
In their moonlit tears
In my hana no niwa
In my place of remembrance

Magenta sweet peas
Bow their heads and bid farewell
To the one whose hands
Long-fingered and delicate
Caressed suitopi blooms

When the frost has come
Ivory chrysanthemums
Lay to rest your name
In autumnal kiku tombs
In dark chambers of my heart

In the pallid glow
Of tsuki and winter stars
Camellias die
Shed their crimson petals in
Snowy tsubaki lament

In the spring voices
Of sakura sing of you
Cherry blossoms mark
Your fleeting days in the sun
When skies were forever blue

In opposing climes
Doleful daffodils remain
Solemn sunflowers
Suisen, himawari
Pay respects with humble hearts

There’s a hidden place
In my hana no niwa
In my broken heart
Where my love for you still grows
Flowers bloom eternally

You are always there
Kneeling in the fertile loam
Under summer sun
Tending our flower garden
Where skies are forever blue